Page 87 of Single Mom's Undoing

Hobbs steps in again before she can say anything else. “My client and I need a minute,” he says. “We’ll go inside and ask the judge for a continuance.”

“You do that,” Damon says.

“Good luck,” Jace adds, smiling broadly.

Elizabeth is reluctant to go inside, eager to respond further, but Hobbs wisely pulls her away from us and into the courthouse building. Our lawyer is waiting for them inside, already instructed to agree on the continuance we knew that Hobbs would end up asking for, given the circumstances.

Damon gives Jace a thankful nod. “Damn, Jace. You really came through for me.”

“All in a day’s work, brother,” Jace replies and shakes his hand. “We’re bound by something far more powerful than blood. Your daughter is ours, too, in a way. We protect our family.”

“Speaking of, do you think it’ll work?” Damon asks me.

All I can offer is a shrug. “We’ll see. It should. Elizabeth has been backed into a corner. She’s a wounded animal eager to lash out. My father will likely be her first stop once she leaves the courthouse.”

“We should get ready then,” Jace says. “I’ll get our surveillance crew prepped and in position. Have faith, Carter.”

“I have all the faith in you and Damon,” I reply.

“We’ll get Clara and Matty back,” Damon states.

His confidence is powerful enough to soothe my frayed nerves, at least momentarily. Taking Elizabeth down was no easy feat, but Jace is an expert in surveillance and intelligence. Once he had her in his crosshairs, there was no way that she could keep anything from her past hidden.

Now that she’s been hit and permanently damaged, she will lead us to my father.

26

CLARA

We’re at a different house now.

A smaller villa on another side of the county. Bill’s goons moved us the night before under the cover of darkness. Matty is still asleep, huddled under a plush white blanket. There’s a baby monitor, so I leave him to get some tea from the kitchen.

Laura stands guard outside. I can see her through the window above the sink.

“God-awful people,” I mutter as I pour a fresh jasmine brew into a mug.

It’s been a weird couple of days.

I’m having to balance between keeping my composure for my son and looking for a way out of this place. The villa is slightly smaller than the previous estate, but it’s still sprawling and complicated enough to make an escape rather difficult, especially since I don’t know the layout.

It’s also heavily guarded. It isn’t just Laura and her buddy Wyatt. I counted at least five other big fellas in dark suits patrolling the hallways and the back garden. There are surveillance cameras everywhere, and there is always a service staff member just around the corner, keeping an extra eye on me.

I look out at the sky, wondering where Carter and the guys are.

“They must be worried sick,” I whisper to myself.

Bill is so damn determined to get me out of my son’s life. I shudder at the thought until I hear heels clicking furiously through the main hallway. For a moment, my heart skips a beat, thinking it might be Margot. Maybe she’s come to get me out.

“Where is she?” Elizabeth’s voice echoes. “Where is that fat bitch?”

“Miss Elizabeth—” one of the guards tries to talk to her.

“Step back!” she barks. “Where is she?”

“The kitchen, miss.”

A moment later, the kitchen door swings open and Elizabeth charges in, practically foaming at the mouth in her elegant turquoise pencil skirt and matching top. I note the beige heels that clicked so loudly mere seconds ago. And then I see the untamed anger in her eyes.